Investment Risk Tolerance Score Calculator
Score your investment risk tolerance with a 7-question survey.
Get a personal risk score, recommended portfolio asset allocation, and stocks-vs-bonds split.
Risk Score and Allocation
Investment Risk Tolerance
Risk tolerance is the level of investment volatility you can absorb without selling at a loss. Two components:
- Capacity — your financial ability to absorb losses (income, savings, time horizon)
- Willingness — your psychological ability to ride out drops without panic-selling
The lower of the two should drive allocation — high capacity but low willingness still loses you money if you sell at the bottom.
Standard risk tolerance bands:
| Score | Risk Profile | Stocks % | Bonds % | Cash % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-15 | Very conservative | 20-30% | 60-70% | 10% |
| 16-25 | Conservative | 40-50% | 45-55% | 5-10% |
| 26-35 | Moderate | 60-65% | 30-35% | 5% |
| 36-45 | Aggressive | 75-80% | 18-22% | 2-5% |
| 46-50 | Very aggressive | 90-100% | 0-10% | 0-5% |
Time-horizon driven adjustments:
| Years to Goal | Bond Allocation Cap |
|---|---|
| 1-2 years | 80-100% (mostly cash + short bonds) |
| 3-5 years | 50-70% bonds |
| 5-10 years | 30-50% bonds |
| 10-20 years | 20-40% bonds |
| 20+ years | 10-30% bonds |
Age-based shortcuts:
- “Age in bonds” rule: bond % = your age (e.g., 40 yrs old = 40% bonds)
- Modern shift: “Age minus 20 in bonds” (40 yrs old = 20% bonds, 80% stocks) — accounts for longer life expectancies and inflation pressure
Equity sub-allocations (within stocks):
- Domestic large-cap: 50-60% of equity
- Domestic small/mid-cap: 10-20%
- International developed: 15-25%
- Emerging markets: 5-15%
- REITs / real estate: 5-10%
Bond sub-allocations:
- Core US aggregate: 50-70% of bonds
- TIPS (inflation-protected): 10-25%
- International bonds: 0-20%
- High-yield (junk): 0-15% (treats more like stocks)
- Cash / short Treasury: 5-15%
Rebalancing thresholds:
- Quarterly check, rebalance when any class drifts 5%+ from target
- Tax-advantaged accounts: rebalance freely
- Taxable: prefer rebalancing through new contributions to avoid capital gains
Common risk-tolerance mistakes:
- Setting allocation in a bull market (overestimating tolerance)
- Selling stocks during a 30%+ drop (capitulation)
- Treating Bitcoin / single stocks as “alternative” — they’re extreme equity, not diversifiers
- Ignoring sequence-of-returns risk near retirement (de-risk gradually 5-10 years before)